Daily Republican., 1887-07-09
HOW THEY GET LIQUOR.
A Ha Hour Win . Trsmp-Somo of
the Tricks of the Fraternity to get

A Ha Hour with . Trsmp-some OF
tho Tricks of the Fraternity to got
Rum.
Say pard, give US FIVE cents will yJu?'
inquired dilipidated epecimen Of hui
manlty OF reporter who was searching
1.-THE coast" for items, yesterday after
noon.
"What do you want five cents for?"
asked the reporter, when the tramp, for
he evidently belonged to the fraternity,
without "a moments hesitation replied,
"why l want to get Q hummer. 'aint
had drink for more IAN two hours, and
1 Il ats little longer than / like to go
The coveted nickel was handed over,
when the tramp struck for saloon q
short distance down the street, from which
he emerged In few minutes, wiping his
mouth on his shirt sleeve, for coat he had
none.
Approaching the scribe he said, "1 tell
you, pard, that fixed me all right, for !
was pretty near dead for drink"
"But suppose / hadn't come along,
and no one else had given you five cents,
what would you have done then!" inquir.
ed the newspaper man.
~ dunno, but guess I'd had to work
| the racket"
"Work the racket what do you mean
| by that?" said the reporter inquiringly.
"Well,I don't mind telling you If you'll
give me another nickel" The reward
was promised, and the tramp commenced
| by saying $50 you don't know what
working the racket is? Well, there Is very
few that does until they become the same
as me, and hundreds of others. the great
er part of whose time is spent in the aims
house or jail. Well, there's good many
ways of working the racket, for l tell you
WEIR bound 10 have the drink.
The latest way is for one fellow to lei
another have his coat, which he will sell
at q junk shop for fifty cents. When
the fellow who sold it gets well out of tht
way, the owner will go in the shop and
ask If man sold a coat there littl'
while before, and If they say he did, hi
described It, ,and declares thatit was stoIeI
en- from him, and threat that he viii
have the prop rietor arrested for receiving
stolen goods generally secures him th'
coat"
"But suppose the sto-ekeeper should
refuse to give it up!" queried the scribe
I''Well in that case all he's got to do te
get the coat Is to tell police officer that
| 1t was stolen, and that they won't give II
to him, and they'll soon hand 1t over"
"The bottle trick used to be pretty
good" he said with a sigh," but its play
ed out now, and 1t would be pretty
greer bartender it could be worked on
Chow was that donei" inquired the
man of notes.
"You got to have two bottles exactly
alike, one of which you fill with water,
and leave the other empty. Upon going
into a ealoon you hand the bartender the
empty bottle and tell him to- fill 1t with
gin. When he hands it over, you put 1t in
your pocket, and tell him that you'll pay
him to morrow. OF course he'll rave and
swear, when you reluctantly hand him
the bottle filled with water, and ask him
to keep it few minutes and you'll bt
back with the money. But that racket't
played out now, and the last time tried
1t In that place over there l got kicked
out, for the fellow took the cork out ant
smelled it."
"Before they got to having the glasses 8,
ismall, two fellows could generally get {
drink apiece for five cents by going in to
Igether, and one calling for the rum aDt
filling his glass full. After drinking the
half, he would hand 1t to his companion
to finish. But now even that's played
out, as the glasses are 30 small that they
hardly hold square drink for one."
"There's good many ways to get q
drink, pard. and you can bet we don't lie,
none of them slip But sec here, did you
forpet that nickel?"
The coin was handed 70 him, and with
la $50 long" he struck off again for the
SALOON, and the reporter pursued his way,
wonder ng on the many peculiar phases
of life that are daily brought TO his no